Carrara White: The White of the Water-Cooled Era

When Porsche entered the water-cooled era, it did not just redesign the car. It quietly updated the white. Grand Prix White, the racing white of the classic decades, handed over to Carrara White, named after the Italian marble, and the name is well chosen: this is a white with the cool composure of stone rather than the flat brightness of a race car's blank canvas.

If Grand Prix White is a number panel waiting for decals, Carrara White is a sculpture that has already decided it needs nothing else.

What Carrara White actually is

Carrara White (Carraraweiss) is a solid, non-metallic white of the 996 era. Compared to Grand Prix White it reads a touch softer and more refined, less stark, closer to that marble the name points at. It suits the 996's flowing, organic surfaces in a way the harder racing white suits the creased, upright classics. Factory code b9a.

Which cars wore it

In the Heckblick catalog Carrara White lives on the 996, where it produces one of the most understated configurations of the generation. A white 996 Turbo is a particular kind of statement: all that capability, wrapped in the least demanding color on the chart. The people who ordered it were not trying to impress anyone at the traffic light. They knew what was under the rear lid.

White on cream, part two

On my Grand Prix White page I describe the one design problem a white car creates for these posters: my posters live on a warm cream background, so a white car has to be defined by its tonal planes rather than dissolving into the paper or hiding behind an outline. Carrara White inherits that whole challenge, plus one refinement: its slightly softer character has to survive the translation, so that the poster reads as this white and not as generic white.

The answer is the same discipline as everywhere else in the catalog: the tone is proofed on a physical test print, on the exact 200gsm matte fine art stock I ship, tuned against the actual paper color, judged in daylight. White on cream is a relationship between two tones, and you can only judge a relationship when both parties are physically in the room. The hex that survived that test is #FEFCF9.

Put your Carrara White 996 on the wall

If you drive a Carrara White 996, the color is in the configurator now. Add your VIN and build year, and I personally review every order before it goes to print.

Carrara White on a different model? Send me a message. Custom builds are part of the offer.